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Mental fatigue impairs physical performance in humans

When participants performed a mentally fatiguing task prior to a difficult exercise test, they reached exhaustion more quickly than when they did the same exercise when mentally rested, a new study finds.

24 Feb 2009

Living wills have an impact on pre-hospital lifesaving care

A new study conducted at the Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pennsylvania, and published by Elsevier in the February 2009 issue of The Journal of Emergency Medicine shows that there is a lack of education and understanding in what sets a living will in motion in a pre-hospital setting. Education and implementation of code status designations can clarify this confusion.

24 Feb 2009

Putting a face on influenza

Influenza results in billions of dollars in lost wages every year, and recent studies found that an estimated 75 million missed workdays a year, and about 200 million days of restricted activity, are due to this vaccine-preventable disease.

24 Feb 2009

Having health insurance essential for people's health and well-being

The evidence shows more clearly than ever that having health insurance is essential for people's health and well-being, and safety-net services are not enough to prevent avoidable illness, worse health outcomes, and premature death, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

24 Feb 2009

Guidelines for treating patients with cardiovascular disease often based on weaker evidence

An examination of clinical practice guidelines for treating cardiovascular disease finds that current recommendations are largely based on lower levels of evidence or expert opinion, according to a study in the February 25 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

24 Feb 2009

Goserelin improves long-term survival in premenopausal women with early breast cancer

Goserelin, a lutenizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist, reduces the long-term risk of disease recurrence and deaths in premenopausal women with early breast cancer who did not take tamoxifen, according to trial data reported in the February 24 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

24 Feb 2009

Diabetes a risk factor for postpartum depression

Postpartum depression is a serious - and often undiagnosed - condition affecting about 10 to 12 percent of new mothers.

24 Feb 2009

Determining risk for pancreatic cancer

In the latest clinical trial for a technique to detect pancreatic cancer, researchers found they could differentiate cells that are cancerous from those that are benign, pre-cancerous, or even early stage indicators called mucinous cystic lesions.

24 Feb 2009

Children with hypertension have trouble with goal-directed tasks

Children with high blood pressure are not as good at complicated, goal-directed tasks, have more working memory problems and are not as adept at planning as their peers without hypertension, according to recent research.

24 Feb 2009

Bone Biologics issued U.S. patent for recombinant protein process

Bone Biologics Inc. has announced that it has received a US Patent Office Notice of Allowance of patent claims which protect a method of production for the UCB-1 (NELL-1) recombinant protein that Bone Biologics uses in the bone repair/regeneration technology in its lead product.

24 Feb 2009

Ambrx and Merck Serono expand collaboration through multiple sclerosis drug

Ambrx Inc, and Merck Serono have announced a global strategic collaboration to develop and commercialize Ambrx's ARX424 preclinical product candidate for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

24 Feb 2009

34 percent of all Medicare Part D enrollees select Medicare Advantage plans for 2009

More than nine million people, or 34 percent of all Medicare Part D enrollees, currently receive their prescription drug benefit through Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD plans), says new analysis by Avalere Health.

24 Feb 2009

Canada urgently needs a prescription for heart health

"The Canadian Heart Health Strategy and Action Plan is the prescription that Canada urgently needs to ensure that Canadians get timely and efficient patient-centred services and access to care when they need it," says Dr. Charles R. Kerr, President of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

24 Feb 2009

Radiation therapy equipment vendors to test system integration

The American Society for Radiation Oncology will host a connectathon at its headquarters in Fairfax, Va., this September as part of the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise - Radiation Oncology (IHE-RO) initiative to promote seamless connectivity and integration of radiotherapy equipment and patient health information systems.

24 Feb 2009

Inexpensive depression screening tool works in resource poor countries

A study published in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine reports that a highly reliable depression screening tool known as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) used across the United States and Europe can be effectively administered in resource poor Africa to HIV/AID patients, a population whose mental health needs have been underserved.

24 Feb 2009

European Society of Cardiology reaffirms advice on cardiovascular risks associated with long-haul flights

Following a review by The Lancet of the medical issues associated with commercial air travel, the European Society of Cardiology has reaffirmed its advice about the risks of venous thromboembolism (VTE), whose risk, according to The Lancet, is increased "up to four-fold" by long-haul flight.

24 Feb 2009

Mathematical method helps to select human embryos

A team of researchers from the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) have developed a mathematical classification which makes it possible to select human embryos for use in assisted reproduction treatments. Scientists have used the morphology of embryos to select the best candidates for implantation in the woman's uterus.

24 Feb 2009

Sexual lyrics in pop music linked to early sexual experiences

With sexual activity among adolescents in the United States resulting in over 750,000 teenage pregnancies each year and reports of up to 25 percent of all female adolescents in the US having sexually transmitted infections, researchers and public health officials are looking for those factors that might increase sexual activity in teens.

24 Feb 2009

One or two drinks a day increase the risk of cancer in women

Women who regularly have one or two alcoholic drinks a day increase their risk of several cancers according to a new report from Cancer Research UK published today.

24 Feb 2009

Researchers block immune cell rush behind deadly sepsis

Researchers have found a way to block the ability of white blood cells to sprint toward the sites of infection when such speed worsens the damage done by sepsis, the often fatal, whole-body bacterial infection, according to a study published today in the journal Blood.

24 Feb 2009